As well as the nutritional elements that comprise neurotransmitters and supplementary substances, tofu also contains nutritional elements that prevent cell oxidization and improve blood flow, which makes it a good food for preventing senility and dementia.

After peaking in the twenties, the brain’s functions start to deteriorate as age progresses. This is due to the decrease in the number of nerve cells in the brain coupled with the disruption of neurotransmissions. One symptom that occurs comparatively early on as brain functions deteriorate is weakened memory retention. Decline in memory due to aging can range from comparatively mild symptoms, which do not cause too much concern, such as inability to remember a name or increased difficulty in doing calculations, etc, to more significant memory deterioration such as missing memory or inability to recognize immediate surroundings, which give rise to concerns about dementia.

Dementia can be broadly classified into two categories; cerebrovascular dementia and Alzheimer type dementia. 30% of people who develop dementia suffer from cerebrovascular dementia, 50% develop Alzheimer type dementia and the remaining 20% develop a combination of both or develop dementia from other causes such as external injury to the brain, tumors, infection, metabolic anomalies, etc.

With cerebrovascular dementia, blood flow is reduced due to arterial sclerosis, which consequently inhibits the overall supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and reduces brain function. Cholesterol and oxygen radicals are strongly associated with the onset of arterial sclerosis and it is possible to protect against these two causal factors by ingesting large amounts of the constituents found in tofu.

Alzheimer type dementia involves the progressive atrophy of the brain. Although the cause of this type of dementia is still unknown, deficiencies in the brain-neurotransmitter acetylcholine have been reported. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter associated with memory and learning, which is produced in the body from ingested choline. Tofu contains choline, and it is hoped that replenishing choline may prevent Alzheimer type dementia and even ameliorate symptoms.

Tofu is a low energy food with extremely low fat content that has no adverse effect on blood vessels. This together with the compound effects of the other constituents in tofu can help to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of senility in the brain.